Ah yes, Maho beach. I have spent many days on that beach in the past. The 747s have come in a little lower than that and taken that chain link fence out, dragging it down the runway. My Dad was there when a 747 blew all off its tires upon landing.

When an airplane lines up on the runway, people will stand right up against that fence and get sand blasted with their bodies completely horizontal. When a 747 pushes full power, it takes out everything behind it. Cars have been flipped over in the middle of the road before.

I was sitting on the beach and saw a guy holding his kid in his arms, standing on a sand ledge. A 747 powered up and the guy and his kid did a complete front flip 15 feet into the water. I couldn't believe it.

The airplanes take off towards the hill because the wind usually favors that runway and it's slightly downhill however....I was standing on my balcony facing the hill when I heard a jet taking off the opposite way. It was a 757 that used every bit of the runway and almost took out that same fence when he broke ground. I heard the "Oh ****" power increase 10 seconds before it lifted off.

Regarding the video posted. I do know a little bit about flying and it looks to me that he had a slight (at least 20 kts.) tailwind on that landing.

This isn't Maho Beach but it is proof that pilots do indeed earn the money they make. If you are a white knuckle passenger, do not watch this video.

Regarding the video posted. I do know a little bit about flying and it looks to me that he had a slight (at least 20 kts.) tailwind on that landing.

TAILWIND!!!!!! lol no way man... you never would land with a tailwind... headwinds or crosswinds only... a 20 kt tailwind would increase your ground speed by 20kts, so normally you would land on the other side of the runway and take advantage of a 20kt headwind to reduce your ground speed.

maybe thats what you meant?

thats a sick video thou

at full thrust (which is rare for takeoff, except on small runways, and occasionally as a normal monthly or so requirement), you could make a small truck do sommersaults... there's a cool video of it, but i cant find it at the moment.

TAILWIND!!!!!! lol no way man... you never would land with a tailwind... headwinds or crosswinds only... a 20 kt tailwind would increase your ground speed by 20kts, so normally you would land on the other side of the runway and take advantage of a 20kt headwind to reduce your ground speed.

maybe thats what you meant?

thats a sick video thou

at full thrust (which is rare for takeoff, except on small runways, and occasionally as a normal monthly or so requirement), you could make a small truck do sommersaults... there's a cool video of it, but i cant find it at the moment.

No sir, not true, I'm not trying to start a debate on it but.... I have personally landed in Aspen, Colorado as well as other places with a tailwind. I don't prefer to do that but sometimes those are the cards you are dealt. Aspen stands out because it is considered a more difficult approach and landing than other airports. Not to mention, it's at 8'000 ft elevation. It's like you are trying to land in the bottom of a coffee cup with mountain wind currents coming down the valley. The location of the runway, aircraft weight, temperature, airport altitude, runway length and wind direction all play a part.

At St. Maarten, the only way in is over the ocean, headwind or tailwind. There is a mountain at the other end. I have roughly 15 landings there and there always seems to be that same sailboat out off the approach end of the runway, everytime we are there, weird.

You are correct as far as the increase in ground speed. I have seen gains and losses of 30 kts at times with the controls being, well......... uncontrollable. You better do it right the first time because there is no time for a second time. Imagine wrestling an airplane all the away down to the ground for 5 minutes, only to go missed approach and do it all over again. Just like the guys in the video. Been there, Sucks.

Does anybody know French? I think in that song they are singing, "I think just **** my paaants, yes I must have **** my paaants."